Nevada's suicide rate is decreasing. What can Colorado learn from it?

In the wake of high-profile shootings, proposals such as banning assault weapons gain momentum. But there are solutions few national politicians are looking at that take a very different tack.

Arts education programs in the United States are subjected to cutting for maintaining tight school budgets. Technology sectors in Seattle seek professionals who have been trained in problem solving skills and innovative idea generation. In response, Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture collaborate to promote equity in students’ access to the arts.

Domestic violence victims often suffer in silence and do not have encouragement to find help. San Luis Obispo in California has created a program RISE that trains primary care physicians to identify signs of domestic abuse and collaborates with clinics to treat and rehabilitate victims. The Affordable Care Act provides coverage for domestic violence screenings, offering financial incentives to help get victims the help that they need.

Media and public scrutiny as well as the experience of being detained can worsen the outlook for juvenile offenders. Increasing court involvement, keeping the media at bay, and having a juvenile facility can help the circumstances.

Peer to peer programs have existed since the 1980s. These programs pair up a person with mental health illness, with one another. The concept, is relatively new in the prison systems, and is gaining traction in states like Pennsylvania.

For youth from low-income or disadvantaged families, the joy of participating in sports activities is often unobtainable, due to the costs of equipment, membership, and even cultural barriers. Street Games is a charity working to provide access to sport, especially for young women, through a personalized, accessible approach that includes hosting games in accessible public areas such as parks in low-income neighborhoods.

To prevent suicides, The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Shooting Sports Association are teaming up for an education initiative to raise awareness around suicide by firearms. The NSSF will lend the cause credibility against gun owners who may fear that this is gun control. Starting in four states with high suicide incidence, the program plans to scale nationally.

Non-violent offenders arrested during mental health episodes in Davidson County are sent to Mental Health Court rather than criminal court. Through this court, they are connected to safety net services such as housing, medication assistance, and therapy.

The South Central Leadership Academy was started in Los Angeles by a college student who believes that gun violence survivors like him should lead the community response in finding solutions to violence. Its first year of paying more than a dozen student survivors to learn community organizing skills succeeded in attracting funding to expand to Nashville, Baltimore, and Atlanta. COVID-19 put the latter two expansions on hold, but LA and Nashville continued with well-attended classes learning remotely. Founder Marco Vargas hopes to turn this startup into a national network of youth leadership academies.

Community advocates and mental health organizations like NAMI are creating mental health support groups and informational sessions at barbershops for Black men. The Black male community is strongly impacted by mental health stigma and these groups and resources bring members of the community together to support each other.